News

Island man indicted on drug charges

(Aug. 22, 2014) A Nantucket man has been indicted by a Barnstable County grand jury on a drug distribution charge after he allegedly flew from the island to Hyannis to buy heroin.

Eric Santos, 26, is facing one count of possession of heroin with intent to distribute.

On May 2, Nantucket police advised Barnstable police that Santos would be traveling to Hyannis on an Island Airlines flight to buy heroin to take back to the island, according to a police report.

Police waited for Santos to get off the plane at Barnstable Municipal Airport and then followed him to McDonald’s on Route 132, where he was picked up by a taxi and driven to a residence in Hyannis, according to the report.

Santos entered the residence and then left a short time later via taxi, the report says. He was dropped off at the airport, according to the report.

Police approached Santos there, and a drug-sniffing dog detected the presence of narcotics in his backpack, according to the report. Police found a plastic baggie containing 12 grams of a substance that tested positive for heroin and a digital scale in the backpack, the report says. The heroin had an estimated street value of $6,000.